Woke up and the light was beautiful... (images)

Johnmcd said:
Hi Peter,

What a remarkable observation and you're dead right :) But it's not as simple as it appears.

Annie (my partner) was born in Australia to Hungarian migrants (Nagy) but adopted out to a anglo-australian family when she was only a year or so old and has had very little contact with her natural mother.

So her 'nature' is Eastern European but her 'nurture' is Australian. She's looking forward to experiencing her 'roots' and travelling to Hungary some time soon. By the same token she is keen for me to travel through Ireland for the same reasons.

Cheers - John
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Thanks for this response John. Yes the Eastern European women seem to have a "certain style" that I have learned to notice over the years. My wife (Alla) is Russian and she certainly exhibits them. But maybe the answer is more simple. A case of "It takes one to know one.............."

You see even more oddly, my story is somewhat similar to your partner's as you describe it. My father was Hungarian who came here after WW2 (name of Stadler . While I dont think Stadler is quite as common as Nagy, there are still quite a few of them around in Hungary. I think it was originally Austrian.) I too was raised by an Australian family, my parents not being married when I was born. But unlike your partner I did make contact with my birth family and found that my natural mother and natural father later did marry and then raised a family together - so I was reunited with a whole genetic family that I never knew I had. That was around 18 years ago now. (My mother who is still alive was born and raised in Australia but from European stock.)

Don't discount the effect of genes on how people behave. Although I was raised in an Australian family I have always been more European in my attitudes and when I met my mother (in particular) I was blown away by how similar we are in personality, behaviour, interests etc. (One is always prepared to to find physical similarities but its surprising to find such mentla ones too. Thank you DNA!)

I did go back to Hungary with my father before he died a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. Budapest and its surrounds are remarkably picturesque. The language is totally incomprehensible though. You would find it fantastic for photography if you are in to urban streetscapes. I took my M4P with me and a Nikon SLR and had a ball shooting. I spent entire days out wandering the streets just to take photos and was captivated by the architecture. At that time Hungary was only a few years out of the communist regime and many buildings still showed damage from the war and revolution. Needless to say I had a great time.
 
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Everything shown is beautiful and inspiring. This is great MF photography and development. Congratulations on such B&W images.
 
Fantastic stuff! The Mamiya medium format cameras, with a good photographer shooting them, are capable of making some great images. That's why I like my Mamiya 6 so much. Once in a while a great opportunity comes up and the resulting images just blow me away.

You've done very well with your golden opportunity. Thanks for sharing.

Ellen
 
Really nice stuff, John. I've seen similar mornings myself and they do seem to have a special quality to the light that you don't get in summer.
 
peterm1 said:
I did go back to Hungary with my father before he died a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. Budapest and its surrounds are remarkably picturesque. The language is totally incomprehensible though. You would find it fantastic for photography if you are in to urban streetscapes. I took my M4P with me and a Nikon SLR and had a ball shooting. I spent entire days out wandering the streets just to take photos and was captivated by the architecture. At that time Hungary was only a few years out of the communist regime and many buildings still showed damage from the war and revolution. Needless to say I had a great time.
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It's a small world, Peter. It has always fascinated me, the effects of our genes vs social upbringing. In our new puppy, thousands of years of evolution is apparent in the subconscious things he does that are just 'written' deep in his being. I know how alike I am to my father, so it makes sense that our cultural norms would also be set after many generations. Very interesting.

I can imagine that Budapest would be a dream location for the street photographer - hopefully, one day...

In November I am visiting Croatia, followed by Belgium and a few days in Frankfurt. The Mamiya will get a serious workout.

Cheers - John
 
Once again, thanks everyone for the kind words. I've glad that these shots have motivated some to pick up their MF's and given enjoyment to others.

Some pay back for all the pleasure that the shots of others have given me over the years :)


Cheers John
 
Same place. Different morning and different film - HP5.

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Cheers - John
 
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